Ministers consider saving second UK steel firm if Liberty group collapses

Another major steel plant may be taken into state control if its parent company collapses into administration after a key court case next week.

- Kiran Stacey Jasper Jolly

The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, is understood to be considering options for what the government can do to save Speciality Steel UK (SSUK) should it be faced with possible closure after Wednesday's insolvency hearing.

Those close to the government's thinking say Reynolds has not ruled out taking full control of the business - part of the Liberty Steel Group owned by Sanjeev Gupta - which employs 1,450 people at plants in Rotherham and Sheffield in South Yorkshire.

It would become the second plant to be run by the state after ministers took control of the similarly threatened British Steel plant in Scunthorpe from its Chinese owners.

A government spokesperson said: "We continue to closely monitor developments around Liberty Steel, including any public hearings, which are a matter for the company. It is for Liberty to manage commercial decisions on the future of its companies, and we hope it succeeds with its plans to continue on a sustainable basis."